New Delhi, July 04: Railway Minister Nitish Kumar today said that there was no proposal to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) to go into the controversial decision to bifurcate the Eastern Railway, an issue on which Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has refused to join the union Cabinet. "I am not aware of any GoM being constituted to go into the matter," Kumar said here on reports that the GoM was being considered as a face-saver for Banerjee. Ruling out a review of the decision, the Railway Minister said, "There is no proposal for any review.” Meanwhile, railway ministry sources denied reports that Kumar had offered to resign from the cabinet on the issue.
Kumar, who had met deputy prime minister L K Advani yesterday amid reports that a compromise formula was being worked out to resolve the controversy, is understood to have discussed the contentious issue with Advani again today.
While Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has refused to join government on the issue, Left and Trinamool MPs had yesterday walked out of a meeting of the railway parliamentary consultative committee to protest the move.
Bureau Report